Minister Asiimwe elected to Global Fund Board

The Minister of State for Public Health and Primary Health Care, Dr. Anita Asiimwe, was on Saturday elected as the vice chair of the Strategy Investment and Impact Committee (SIIC) of the Global Fund Board.

Asiimwe, who has a mandate of two years, will co-chair the committee with David Stevenson, the Director General of the Global Initiatives Directorate, according to a statement from the Rwanda Health Communication Centre.

Minister Asiimwe pledged to focus more on advocating for Africa’s prosperity in health aspects.

“I will provide my expertise, and continue to advocate for the implementers including the African bloc.  While their voice has been heard, there is need for more advocacy since the African bloc is most affected by HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis,” she said.

The committee has a mandate of acting the oversight role of the strategic direction of the Global Fund and ensuring the optimal impact and performance of its investments in health.

The committee plays an important functional role in decision making, advisory, and oversight.

Thus, the Board delegates its authority to the Strategy, Investment and Impact Committee powers and to perform certain functions based on committee responsibilities.

This year, Global Fund gave Rwanda $21 million (Rwf13.6 billion) to fight malaria. In August the health ministry said negotiations were underway to get $25 million (Rwf16.2 billion) to fight tuberculosis and $204 million for HIV.

The Global Fund has recently commended Rwanda on how it has used the grant allocated towards the campaign to fight HIV prevalence in the country for the past three years.

Minister Asiimwe elected to Global Fund Board